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Spring Quarter Students reliability to Social Media for news

Social media is intersecting with news outlets to create a flow of rapid information reaching viewers merely minutes after an event or crisis occurs.

A new survey by Pew Research Center, in association with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, said, “62% of U.S. adults receive their news from social media.”

In the digital age, students are using social media as a way to quickly view news alerts and stay informed.

A collaboration of the American Press Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, states that “social media and mobile play a large role in Millennial news consumption, the average Millennial-aged 18-34 gets 74% of their news from online sources.”

Students are relying on social media more for news rather than other sources such as printed newspapers, television news or legitimate online news sites.

Although these social apps are a great way to receive information it is not the best or most reliable way to view news.

Sometimes it can be hard to differentiate between information that is false or misleading compared to sources that are legitimate and true.

“I rely on social media for news especially Twitter because there are multiple sources of information may it be from the public or a legitimate source,” said student, Felipe Gutierrez. “Although Twitter may not be extremely reliable, there is embedded links and retweeted articles that can inform the viewer of a legitimate news story.”

A majority of students find their news on Twitter because of the fast way people are able to tweet or retweet an event.

Twitter is very brief and to the point with 140 words or less making headlines easier to find. It also sends notifications and alerts when there is breaking news, which makes it convenient for individuals.

The Media Insight Project found that Millennials aren’t always connected to social news apps, instead only half say they keep up with news most of the day.

Social media plays an important role in updating people, not only students, with quick information and news without going to a computer, television or paper.

Junior Melissa Johnson, further explained this finding, stating “ I do not stay as updated with the news as I should, the only way I see a news story at all nowadays is from my social media accounts.”

Social media is still in the fresh new stages of rapidly acquiring news and information, and creating stories based on as little information as possible.

The problem with social media alerts being such a rapid outlet is that some of the information may be misleading, making it unreliable.

Social media is changing the face of news but it has not yet become a strong or reliable information source for the public or students.